WAFCON2022: Nigeria’s Mimisen Iyorhe gets tournament final appointment

Nigeria’s foremost Assistant Referee, Mimisen Iyorhe Calvin-Onwuka has been handed a crucial Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON2022) final appointment by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), www.aclsports.com reports.

With the 2022 tournament reaching a climax on Saturday, CAF has appointed the exceptional Nigerian referee as the Assistant Referee 1 (AR1) for the competition’s championship match between hosts Morocco and South Africa’s Banyana Banyana.

Morocco eliminated defending champions Nigeria at the semi-final stage on Monday but in Mimisen Iyorhe Calvin-Onwuka, Nigeria will have a representative in the final billed for the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat on Saturday. 
Mimisen Calvin-Onwuka will be assisting respected arbiter Salima Rhadia Mukansanga from Rwanda who will be the centre referee of the historic encounter. Fanta Idrissa Kone from Mali will be the Assistant Referee 2 (ARII) while Maria Packuita Cynquela Rivet from Mauritius will be the fourth official.

Saturday’s final will be Mimisen’s fourth game of the competition. She had officiated in the group stage games between Tunisia and Togo (Group B) as well as Burkina Faso against Uganda (Group A).

She was also in action when South Africa defeated Tunisia at the quarter final stage, a game in which Mukansanga was also the centre referee. Saturday’s final will produce a first-time winner of the Women’s AFCON as neither side has ever won the tournament.

Mimisen Iyorhe Calvin-Onwuka’s appointment makes her the first Nigerian referee to officiate in an AFCON final. She is also one of the referees listed to officiate at the 2022 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica next month.